


Fly Me to the Moon

by idola



Category: Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu | The Legend of the Legendary Heroes
Genre: Denyuuden AU Week 2020, Land of the Lustrous | Houseki no Kuni AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:16:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24734521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idola/pseuds/idola
Summary: Sion is a diamond whose beauty has captured the selfish hearts of the rest of the gems as well as the Lunarians. They've chosen him to lead, but being a leader means he has to lead them somewhere.
Relationships: Sion Astal/Ryner Lute
Kudos: 7





	Fly Me to the Moon

**Author's Note:**

> day 2 - crossover

A sunspot was forming.

“Ugh, seriously? I was gonna nap…”

Sion laughed. He was standing tall, sword at the ready. He was way more prepared than Ryner was. But that was only natural. He was the one who wanted to be here.

Sion didn’t get to patrol often. Even when he did, everyone he passed got nervous.

“No, no, no, you’ve gotta stay inside! We’ll take care of it!” Claugh would say, pointing back at his patrolling partner, Calne, who nodded. “And don’t even try to say it’s to protect us or whatever. I’ll throw this squirt at them and run if they bring out the real big guns, don’t worry.”

“Hey! I take my nod back!”

Then there was Miran, who was even worse. He’d stopped them as they left this morning for an impromptu lecture. “Sir, I highly implore you to remain inside… We haven’t had a Lunarian attack in the past two days - today it is statistically likely, and although you may be hard, you lack durability…”

And on and on and on.

It was mid-morning by the time Sion finally managed to sneak away, stealing Ryner from his patrolling partner Ferris in the process. She’d shrugged. She didn’t care if they ran off together. If anything, she liked the chance to laze around for a change.

So here they were, standing against the blue sky and wind with a sunspot forming overhead. It wasn’t long before the Lunarians began to pour out.

Only then did Ryner stand. He spoke through a yawn. “Looks like some pretty standard stuff.”

“But looks can be deceiving.”

Ryner shrugged. “We can take it.”

And so they did. Ryner was fast despite his chronic sleepiness. He took one side while Sion took the other. Then they switched as they cut through the core. The Lunarians dissolved with their ship, leaving the two gems to jump back to earth.

It was simple. Easy.

It was ridiculous that everyone gave him such a hard time to come do this every now and then.

It wasn’t like Sion didn’t understand a little. He was their leader. Though he was sure that some of them would be fine without him - their calcite, Luke, came to mind - others would surely be lost and unsure of what else to fight for. He was their aim in an aimless world. He couldn’t let himself be taken.

Ryner yawned again once they landed, then promptly fell to the ground and groaned. “Still time for a nap, so I’m gonna go ahead and take it. Night.”

Sion smiled.

The other gems’ aim was to protect him. But if Sion himself had any aim in this aimless world… he’d say it was to have moments like this.

“You’d better get up,” Sion said.

“Mm? Why?”

“We’re going home for the day.” They’d won the fight, but not without some little cracks in Sion’s arms from swinging his sword.

Ryner looked him over for a moment before his eyes settled on Sion’s arms. “You sure it’s okay for you to be doing that stuff?” Ryner asked as he hopped up and began to walk back to the school. “You’re gonna start losin’ chips of yourself everywhere.”

“That’s fine,” Sion said. “I’ll just wear heels if I chip my height off.”

“Well, if you’re okay with it…” 

Ryner accompanied him to the infirmary. He always did after missions together, not because he was actually going to help, but because he liked to nap in the sun of the examination table. They didn’t have a real doctor anymore, so there was no one to tell him not to. Not since Fiole… 

Sion gulped down the discomfort in his stomach as he rummaged through their supplies to find the paste to glue the cracks in his skin back together. That was another bad thing about Fiole being gone. Nobody but Sion cared to organize the infirmary, so whenever someone needed something, they left it wherever they felt like it. Nobody respected the system Fiole had come up with. They’d all forgotten about it already. So he had to really search for what he needed.

He knew logically that was asking too much of everyone to remember every one of their fallen comrades. It’d been so long, after all… Most of them probably didn’t have the faintest clue who Tony, Tyle, and Fahle were, for example. But what could he expect? They were selfish creatures.

Sion had been here for over a thousand years now, so he felt like he was a bit of a gem expert. And if the past thousand years had taught him anything, it was that they were all selfish. Each and every one of them.

Everyone spent their days calling the Lunarians selfish for stealing the gems away for jewelry, but were they really any better? At least the Lunarians remembered where their jewelry came from. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t keep coming back.

Sion touched his hair that the Lunarians coveted idley. It was impossibly bright against the light of day. The sun didn’t even need to be shining on him - he was plenty bright without it. He was surprised Ryner tolerated being around him. Wasn’t it too bright to nap?

Still, he didn’t seem to mind at all. He’d already set up camp in the window, groaning in content. “The sun feels sooo good.” He was snoring in seconds.

Sion laughed. The same as ever, wasn’t he?

With no distractions left to stop him, Sion glued himself back together against the backdrop of Ryner’s snoring. He’d like it if they could go out again tomorrow. It was dangerous, he knew. The Lunarians especially coveted the brighter gems, and Sion was by far the most brilliant of their ranks. If he went out one hundred times, the Lunarians would attack him one hundred times. But staying inside all the time was awful. Their bodies needed sun to survive. He was no exception.

He glanced back over to Ryner while he waited for his repairs to set. He couldn’t help but smile at the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

He knew it was bad to take Ryner as his partner. Because… going with him was risky. He could be taken away. But Sion liked to think that it was safe in some ways too, since Ryner hated fighting. He wouldn’t do anything rash like others might.

“…Alright,” Sion said to himself once he was dry. He stood up, then shook Ryner. “Nap time’s over. Let’s finish our patrol.”

“Ughhh. Five more minutessss.”

“What kind of a slave driver would I be if I let you do that?” Sion asked. He picked Ryner up, then set him back down with his feet on the ground. “Five-point-fives like you don’t stand a chance against the will of a ten.”

“I knooow. Ferris doesn’t let me forget it.”

Ryner was a dim tiger’s eye. Not the strongest, but not the weakest either. If they had more people, they might be able to keep him near the base. But they were always short on patrols, and it was funny when he whined about it, so he was being forced out against his will.

His unwillingness was the best part. There was just something about Ryner. He practically begged to be bullied. 

Sion had to drag Ryner back out into the courtyard and out on the open plains. There was no substitute for the feeling of the real sun against him - not through the windows, not through the walls, but the sun truly shining on them, for them. It was invigorating.

“We only made it halfway to the shore earlier,” Sion said. “Come on, let’s run.”

“I don’t wannaaa.”

“Ferris is still hanging around here, though? Remember last time when she used you as target practice?”

Ryner started running. It was a race, then.

As expected, Ryner’s energy fell through once he deemed them far enough away that Ferris wouldn’t see him and attack. Ryner was their infirmary’s number one visitor, and his partner Ferris was why. She still didn’t really understand that the swords were meant for attacking Lunarians with, not other gems. But who was Sion to tell her no? Her and Ryner’s excuses were the highlights of his days.

They reached the edge of the coast. Their patrol’s route would take them against it for a few extra miles before curling around and sending them back towards the school. It wasn’t a huge island. But it was their world, so they had to protect it.

The sun shining against the sea was beautiful. It was the exact kind of scene that’d put Ryner right to sleep.

Sion had to look back every ten steps to make sure that Ryner hadn’t lay on the ground for his third nap of the day. On the fourth check, he had. But that wasn’t the only thing that’d changed.

“…Ryner, there’s a sunspot above you.”

Ryner yawned. “Nice try, but we already fought them off today. They’re not comin’ back.”

“I’m serious.”

Ryner continued to ignore him.

“Ryner! Get up!” Sion said and unsheathed his sword. Only then did Ryner get the urgency in his voice enough to check.

“Oh, there really is one.”

The Lunarian ship hadn’t come through the ink-black opening in the sky yet, so Ryner stood slowly, stretching as he did. But before he even thought to reach for his sword… arrows rained from the dark blots against the sky. They focused on one spot - the spot where Ryner stood.

“Ryner!” Sion yelled. But what was he supposed to do? Ryner wasn’t hard enough to withstand an attack like that, and Sion wasn’t durable. If he stepped into it, they’d both die.

He needed help. He needed someone like Lucile, who was hard, fast, and durable enough to get in there. But even then… 

Sion watched as Ryner’s dim body broke into shards. Every arrow broke him up more and more.

Seconds was all it took before Ryner was in such small pieces that he’d be impossible to recover before the Lunarians took him.

He’d only hesitated for a few seconds.

Sion fell to his knees.

Why? They always attacked him. Why would they suddenly attack Ryner instead?

The ship appeared. The arrows didn’t stop raining down, surrounding Ryner’s shards to prevent anyone from saving him. And he felt someone grab him from behind.

“No,” Sion whispered.

“It’s impossible.” He recognized the voice as Claugh, a durable ruby. “You gotta get somewhere safe. Me and Calne ran into Luke and Milk earlier. The three of them can take the Lunarians.”

“No,” Sion repeated. But Claugh didn’t listen.

It happened so fast. No, it was still happening. In his mind, it played on repeat. Ryner ignoring him. Ryner turning a second too late. Ryner being shattered into pieces - first two, then five, smaller, smaller… 

He’d been so stupid to believe that Ryner would be safe from the Lunarians, who infinitely prefered things that they could see shine brightly. But maybe they had better eyes than Sion had realized.

Claugh took him back to his room.

It was the same room as always, but now it felt someohow uninviting. Sion couldn’t sleep that night. So he got up to wander around the school instead.

It was odd. Nobody else seemed to be having a problem. The halls were empty. Nobody stopped him from going outside to stand in the light of the moon.

It was today. Earlier today.

Just earlier today, he watched Ryner nap in the sunlight. Just earlier today, he heard him snore and smiled.

If he’d known that would be the last time, he… 

Sion gulped down the emotions that were trying to force their way outside of him. He had to be strong. He was everyone’s leader. They all depended on him. He gave meaning to their meaningless lives.

Yet he couldn’t help but wonder. What was the point of him being here?

The longer he stayed, the more gems were taken because of him. He hated it. But he knew that the others would be aimless without him. He did. As a diamond, he was bound to shine the brightest. He was bound to make their heads turn and their eyes fill with joy.

They’d lived without him before, though. Luke, Claugh, Lucile, Miran… they were all older than he was. They’d all made it until they met him. And then what? Had they dropped other things they cared about so there was room inside of their selfish minds to care about Sion instead? Or had he truly brightened their existences?

Either way, bright or not, they didn’t need Sion to live. They’d make it without him. But… 

Sion took a step out into the moonlight. The soft light bathed his limbs, causing his surroundings to sparkle. He could see why some of them found him blinding. Some days he wanted to cover it all with powder. Others he just wanted to be reborn. What would he be, he wondered?

He looked up at the moon.

Ryner was there now. But he probably wasn’t in one piece.

They were gems, not organic life. They didn’t age and they didn’t die. He knew that he’d never be reborn, and neither would Ryner. Wishing for it, wanting it… no matter how much he strained his mind in prayer, no matter how much he wanted him back, it’d never happen.

Fiole never returned from the moon. Nobody else did, either. The chances of Ryner ever making it back were incredibly slim to the point of impossibility.

Sion sighed as he heard movement behind himself. Someone had followed him out to make sure he stayed safe. He should have expected that, really. No one ever wanted to give him time to himself. Because if they did, they’d lose their own peace of mind, and at their cores gems were selfish.

The air here on earth was thick with their expectations. Watching, waiting, adoring. Sometimes Sion wondered if it was any thinner on the moon.

On the moon… where Ryner was… 

He held his arm out. But it couldn’t reach.

“……”

“Were you planning on going somewhere?”

“Onyx.”

Miran, a gem of onyx, stepped out into the moonlight. He always wore long black gloves and socks with their uniform, so only his shoulders and face exposed the feather-like white bands of his gem. Only those thin bands reflected the moonlight, giving him a rather sinister look in the night. “It is a beautiful night. But you should be in bed. We are not made to be out in the dark.”

“I could say the same to you.”

Miran smiled. “I can hardly sleep with a bright light such as yourself just outside of my window.”

Sion glanced down at the shine his presence gave to the ground. “Fair.”

“You looked as though you wanted to pull the moon closer, not push it farther,” Miran said.

Obviously. Ryner was up there. “I suppose you’re not worried about our comrades up there.”

“That is correct. Mourning the dead is a waste of energy.”

“Gems don’t die.”

“We might as well.”

That was true. If they could die, they could at least be reborn. But… if they weren’t dead up there, then that meant they were asleep, right?

Sion smiled. Ryner did always say that he just wanted to nap forever. And yet… he couldn’t be happy. He wanted Ryner back. Needed him, almost. He was aimless without him.

Was this what the others felt when they looked at him? He hadn’t understood it until this very moment. He was a gem, too, wasn’t he? 

Sion took another step towards the moon. “I’m going to be patrolling in Ryner’s place tomorrow.”

“Sir, I don’t think—”

“Surely you’ll be satisfied if I take Lucile as my partner. I know he’s yours, but you’ve said yourself that he’s more suitable than most to go with me. He’s about as immune to damage as one can be.”

“That is true, but…”

Sion almost laughed.

The truth was that Sion’s partners were always taken away. Tony, Tyle, Fahle, Fiole, Ryner, everyone. If Sion took Lucile with him, then he’d be taken too. Everyone protected Sion, after all. They protected him and left themselves open for attack. Sion had to go out into the sun to live. He was a gem just like anyone else. But when he did, his comrades were taken away. They never stayed here with him. They were always cut up into beautiful little shards of themselves by the Lunarians and taken to another world.

Maybe that was a good thing, though.

Maybe if they were all taken, then Sion could finally get a good night’s sleep.

They’d meet again in their dreams on the moon, where they’d never have to worry about anything anymore.

“I’ll be going with Lucile tomorrow,” Sion said. “I won’t take no for an answer.”

“…Yes, of course,” Miran said, despite the vague jealousy in his tone. “If you insist…”

He hoped Ryner would wait for him.

**Author's Note:**

> houseki no kuni is the only manga i follow closely so i am up to date on all the lore, but i decided an au of hnk would be most suitable for the concepts i wanted, so it's a world without adamant. i think it's fun to wonder what gems might do with only their own to lead them, and i think sion would naturally rise to that role if he were a gem. i enjoy the thought of a leader who leads his people knowingly towards death. i don't think sion is the type to do that in canon, but in this au, as a selfish gem who has nothing but things to grieve over, i think his grief would get the best of him sooner than later
> 
> it's a coincidence that the beginning of au week has been so sion heavy, but the rest of the week will be more typical of my tastes in characters


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